Roy Hodgson made a winning start in his first competitive game as Liverpool manager courtesy of David N'Gog's double in an uncomplicated 2-0 Europa League away victory over Rabotnicki.

Fulham have confirmed Mark Hughes as their new manager on a two-year contract.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas admits he is torn between a move to Barcelona or remaining in north London.

Argentina football chief Julio Grondona and team manager Carlos Bilardo have rejected accusations of deceit and betrayal levelled at them by sacked coach Diego Maradona.

Luke Young's move to Liverpool has reportedly collapsed after he failed to agree contract terms with manager Roy Hodgson.

Stuttgart defender Serdar Tasci could be on his way to Arsenal, according to the player's agent.

Celtic have completed their seventh signing of the summer with the acquisition of Israel international Biram Kayal from Maccabi Haifa.

Mark Hughes is expected to be appointed Fulham's new manager today, ending the club's protracted search for a replacement for Roy Hodgson.

La Liga CEO Francisco Roca Perez has vented his frustration with UEFA over their decision to ban cash-strapped Real Mallorca from European competition.

Diego Maradona has accused Argentina football chief Julio Grondona of lying and team manager Carlos Bilardo of treason in a bitter attack on the two men he insists plotted his downfall.

Stuttgart's German international midfielder Sami Khedira is closing in on a move to Spanish club Real Madrid, the club's sporting director Fredi Bobic confirmed on Thursday.

Chelsea and Manchester United are likely to slug it out again for the Premier League title when the new season kicks off next month, former England captain Bryan Robson said Thursday.

A four-minute second-half hat-trick from Jon-Paul Pittman saw Wycombe secure a remarkable 5-1 victory over a Chelsea XI in an open encounter.

French Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is suing the sports daily L'Equipe for slander over a story that he insulted France manager Raymond Domenech during the 2010 World Cup, the website 20minutes.fr reported Thursday.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is ready to make peace with Robinho if the Brazil forward is willing to raise his game for the Premier League club.

David Beckham has "no interest" in leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy and has had no contact with West Ham, a spokesman for the England star has revealed.

Inter Milan defender Nicolas Burdisso has his heart set on a permanent move to Roma.

Barcelona's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has put an end to speculation that he is leaving the Spanish champions, saying Thursday that he is staying put at the club.

Mainz are considering making a swoop for Milan striker Dominic Adiyiah after an agreement was reached with the Serie A club.

Milan have been rocked by an injury scare to Ronaldinho, who is facing a month on the sidelines.

Arles-Avignon are expected to complete a season-long loan deal for Hull striker Kamel Ghilas.

Alex Ferguson insists the much-criticised Glazer family have done a good job as owners of Manchester United.

The cash-strapped French city of Strasbourg announced on Thursday they have withdrawn their bid to host matches in the 2016 European football championship.

Spain's La Liga said Thursday it would launch a pre-season exhibition tournament in Asia next year to boost its profile in the region, where the English Premier League dominates.

These were the closing words of Dr. Joe Mifsud's speech on Monday evening during the last Council Meeting of the Association for the year 2009/10 prior to the Association's Annual General Meeting of Saturday 7th August.

The Maltco Lotteries First Division Knock-Out and the Quick-Keno Second and Third Division Knock-Out draws were held at the Centenary Hall during an MFA press conference on Monday, which was also attended by officials of Maltco Lotteries Ltd.

A group of 21 Malta players under the charge of coach John Buttigieg and assistant coach Carmel Busuttil set off on Sunday to commence a week-long schedule of training which heralds the new season for the national team.

After a successful stints coaching different youth levels and at Lija Athletic, Pieta Hotspurs, Sliema Wanderers and San Gwann, former Zurrieq defender and UEFA A Licence holder Brian Spiteri has returned to coach the first team.

A goalless away draw against Ruch Chorzow was not enough to see Valletta through to the third qualifying round of the Europa League as the Polish side progressed thanks to the away goal average.

Birkirkara’s hopes of progressing to the third qualifying round of the Champions League, which no Maltese club has ever reached came to an end on Wednesday as they went down 3-0 away to MSK Zilina in their return match to lose out 3-1 on aggregate at Pod Dubňom, Zilina.

BOV Premier League champions Birkirkara will kick off their title defence against Sliema Wanderers after the National League draws were held at the Centenary Hall on Monday.

Birkirkara’s midfielder Shaun Bajada has been named on Friday as the MFA Footballer of the Year for season 2009/10.

Hamrun Spartans Youth Football Nursery will be taking part in the Welsh International Super Cup with squads from the 1995 and 2000 categories.

Addressing representatives from the Youth Football Nurseries on the occasion of the Summer of Grassroots Seminar, MFA president Dr. Joe Mifsud had only words of praise towards the unstinting efforts constantly put in by the administrators, coaches and helpers working at the Youth Football Nurseries.

Qormi announced that they have signed Premier League rivals Hibernians forward Benjamin Camilleri on a season-long loan deal.

Pieta' Hotspurs Youth Nursery preparations to take part in the 26th ediiton of the Welsh Super Cup are in full swing.

The first part of the Fit For Future programme was completed successfully, an initiative where for the third consecutive year, The General Soft Drinks Co. Ltd. is promoting the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle through its brand Powerade.

In the next two days Birkirkara and Valletta, the two Maltese teams still in contention for further progress in the Champions League and the Europa League, will carry the country's flag as they face stiff hurdles in the second leg ties of the second qualifying round of the competitions.

Hibernians have signed English central defender Matthew Clarke and Scottish striker Paul McManus.

Sheffield United's CEO Trevor Birch and Group Executive Director Mike Farnan were invited to the prestigious setting of Malta’s residential Presidential Palace.

Half-way through the European Athletics Championship in Barcelona.and four finals were in contention for the third day.

Juan Manuel Marquez believes Floyd Mayweather Jr would out-point Manny Pacquiao if the two superstars met in the ring.

Jenson Button believes he must finish on the podium in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix if his McLaren team are to maintain their lead in the world championship.

Jamaican and US sprint teams are set to face off at next month's athletics meet in Zurich, with the teams led by Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay lining up to challenge world records, organisers said Thursday.

London 2012 Olympics chief Sebastian Coe said Thursday he was confident the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi would leave a lasting legacy in the Indian capital.

Felipe Massa insisted on Wednesday that he has no fears over returning to the Hungaroring, 12 months after a horror crash which almost killed him.

Hosts Kenya claimed the first gold in the African Athletics championships on Wednesday when Wilson Kiprop held off Uganda's Moses Kipsiro to win the men's 10,000 metres.

Three of the world's fastest men, including 100 metre world record holder Usain Bolt are set to race at the DN Galan meet in Stockholm next month, organizers said Wednesday.

Michael Schumacher doesn't expect Mercedes to be in a position to challenge front-runners McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari in the remainder of the season and instead thinks the German team should focus on having a competitive car in 2011.

Mexican veteran Juan Manuel Marquez defends his lightweight title on Saturday against American Juan Diaz in a rematch of their title slugfest from last year that brought Marquez two titles.

Felipe Massa has insisted that he has not fallen into a number two driver role by handing German Grand Prix victory to Fernando Alonso, and says that if the same situation arose again, he would expect to win the race.

Karel Abraham will give MotoGP grid numbers a welcome boost in 2011 after confirming his intentions to graduate to the premier class next season.

BOHINC TO RACE IN COWES TORQUAY COWES
Hannes Bohinc, the Austrian world powerboat champion, will aim to become only the fourth man in history to win the Cowes Torquay Cowes three times when his Wettpunkt.com team lines up for one of the world’s great endurance challenges over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo claimed on Wednesday that the team's controversial one-two finish at the German Grand Prix proves the Italian giants are back in business.

Alessandro Petacchi remained silent Wednesday when questioned in Florence by police investigating whether the Tour de France green jersey winner has committed a new doping offence.

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will leave Astana at the end of this season after he rejected the team's offer to extend his contract, the Spaniard's spokesman announced on Wednesday.

It was another successful weekend for local mountain bikers Etienne Bonello and Marie Claire Aquilina who participated at the Granfondo Casal Floresta in the Nebrodi region of Sicily.

Cliff Micallef, 45 of Swieqi, was an experienced cyclist who was responsible for tackling mechanical problems encountered by the LifeCycle team. Tragically on the 30th July 2009, Cliff, a father of three, died on the spot when he was hit by a car on the coast road.

The second race in the Birkirkara St. Joseph 5K Road Running Series will be held on Tuesday, 27 July on the Mtarfa By-Pass.

Over the weekend the Marsa cricket team played against returning touring team Leyland C.C.from the United Kingdom.

The annual international seminar organized by the European Judo Union in Malta, this year took on a very formal and important role.

Tigers Softball Club players had a unique opportunity to compete against other leading teams in an international tournament at San Martino Buon Albergo.

The Maltese National Under-16 teams will be in Andorra between the 25th July and 1st August for the FIBA Europe European Championships Division C.

The Malta Racing Club announced that the 2010 Malta–Sicily Encounter Race will be held in Malta for the first time on the 23rd July at the racing track in Marsa.

The Sport Summer School organised by Scuola di Pallavolo – Malta is now in its third week.

With a magnificent display of aerial ballet and acrobatics against the backdrop of an equally impressive repertoire of aquatic magic from the famous fountain bearing this name, at the foreground of the National Museum of Art of Catalunya, the 20 edition of these Championships in Athletics were formally inaugurated.

Birkirkara St. Joseph’s long distance swimmer Keith Bartolo confirmed that his is back on track in his grueling regime in preparation for the forthcoming English Channel Crossing he will be attempting next year.

Italian shooter Stefano Pennoni claimed the Malta International Trap Grand Prix 2010 organized by the Malta Shooting Sport Federation at the Bidnija ranges this weekend.

Hungarian Waterpolo Summer Camp Ltd. set up a camp at Sliema A.S.C. for the first time.

Five young Maltese boys will be going on an adventure that not many children their age experience.

It took the ‘From Tunisia to Malta in aid of Puttinu Cares’ Kayak expedition 25hours 20minutes to paddle from the Tunisian sea-side resort of Mahdia to Lampedusa 75 nautical mile apart.

Boris Lalov of Msida Arrows BC retained the Badminton First Division title who finished his commitments unbeaten with ten points, having won four and drawn two of the six matches played.